Lake, Geauga state legislators react to Ohio House budget proposal

A new version of the state budget bill unveiled Tuesday in the Ohio House of Representatives in Columbus dramatically differs from what Gov. John Kasich had proposed.

State legislators from Lake and Geauga counties said an expansion of Medicaid in Ohio that would have been 100 percent federally funded for the next three years was removed.

The state expected more than 365,000 Ohio residents to be eligible next year if an expansion is approved.

Lawmakers said there is a possibility that the Ohio Senate could add it back as the budget process unfolds.

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The governor's 20 percent income tax cut proposal was reduced to a 7 percent cut and a proposed severance tax on oil and gas drilling was eliminated. A 0.5 percent reduction of the state sales tax rate that also would have broadened services to which it would apply was cut out.

Overall, the budget would spend about $1.85 billion less during the next two years from what Kasich proposed, said state Rep. Ron Young, R-Leroy Township.

"Under the (governor's) executive budget, we were going to take the federal deficit spending and use it here in Ohio on different things to fund expansions here in our budget," Young said. "Now we're spending less and still accomplishing good things with our money. We're still allocating money for people with medical needs and addiction and medical problems and people who need jobs."

But several area lawmakers said they disagreed with how the new budget bill eliminates an expansion of Medicaid in Ohio.

"For me, I'm very disappointed. I understand there is a difference in opinion in what is happening in Washington," said state Rep. John Rogers, D-Mentor-on-the-Lake. "But the truth is, the federal government has made a decision to have these (Medicaid) funds come back to the states to take care of the indigent."

"Thirteen billion dollars in taxes will now be sent to Washington and will not return to Ohio that could have been used to help stimulate our economy here. That's lost revenue," said state Rep. John Patterson, D-Jefferson.

More school districts in Ohio also would receive additional funding in the new budget bill, Republican legislators said.

"In the original proposal, only one school district in my House district would get additional funds," said state Rep. Matt Lynch, R-Bainbridge Township. "Eight or nine districts now will receive additional funds. The overall message is no district will receive less funding."